Category: Best New Illustrator or Photographer

Off the Page is a regular interview series featuring National Magazine Award winners. Recently we caught up with photojournalist Marta Iwanek, who in 2016 was named Canada’s Best New Magazine Photographer from the National Magazine Awards Foundation, in addition to winning the Gold Medal for Photojournalism & Photo Essay for her incredible reporting of the 2013-2014 Ukrainian crisis, titled “The Maidan” (Maisonneuve).NMAF: In your award-winning photo essay, “The Maidan,” you take the reader on a journey to a winter in Kyiv, where thousands of Ukrainians gathered to take a courageous stand against their government. You capture the Maidan as a place of fear and uncertainty, but also of community and solidarity. How did you get a sense of the place when you arrived, and what were the human emotions that spoke to you as a photographer?Marta: I first arrived in Kyiv in early November (2013) before any of the protests had started. I remember driving through the centre of the city and thinking what a bustling metropolis it was. Then I went out east to work on a film and returned in late November a little after the pro-European protests had begun. Everything was still calm at that point and there was a sense of hopefulness among the crowd.
The protest was to last nine days, but on the last night everything changed. The remaining protestors were chased out of Independence Square (Maidan) and beaten by police, angering many people. On December 1 a large demonstration occurred in Kyiv where the people re-took the square and the movement that became known as “the Maidan” began. I was supposed to fly back to Toronto shortly after, but realized I couldn’t leave.
The feeling was so powerful and strong among the people. It felt like people had been pushed to an edge and they had nothing more to lose. There were feelings of frustration, abandonment and urgency. At the same time, you could still find the glimpses of hope and community as people unified under one cause–to oust then President Yanukovych. I was always trying to show those emotions in my photos and trying to understand the situation deeper, trying to figure out what made it this way? I changed my flight and ended up staying three months, living among the protestors and spending my days and nights wandering the square, talking to people and trying to make sense of it.
I like to immerse myself in stories as much as possible and I hope this translates in my photos. It was also a story I felt personally connected to because my roots are Ukrainian and I grew up in the Ukrainian diaspora in Toronto. I grew up listening to the stories of Ukraine’s constant struggle for independence and to be free of corruption, so the feelings of the people in the square were not foreign to me. However, this time, it wasn’t just my parents talking about it in Canada, detached from the situation and it’s consequences. It was happening in front of me. When it was finally time to leave, I will always remember that contrast I felt when I first arrived in the capital and when I left–the place, the people and the country had been changed forever.

During my years as the art director of Maisonneuve magazine, I had the opportunity to work with many talented women photographers—each one a unique visual voice. Marta Iwanek stands out for the way she brings her compassion to a body of work that sits on the edge of war and peace, among fire and smoke, between life and death situations, especially with her Ukrainian “Maidan” project.
—Anna Minzhulina, former art director, Maisonneuve

NMAF: Over one hundred people were killed in the government reprisals, and you spent time not only on the front lines but also with those who were wounded and grieving. How did you balance your own safety with your passion for capturing every aspect of the story? And did you learn anything about yourself as a journalist that will assist you in the future?Marta: There were certain days that felt very unsafe on the square, but the majority of my time spent there, things were peaceful. There would be flare-ups between police and protestors and then things would resume back to “normal.” I looked to other, more experienced photojournalists in the square for guidance and advice. I had only been freelancing for three months at that point, fresh out of college and had found myself in the middle of the news cauldron that was Kyiv.
There were many times that I was scared. Even today I think I still would be. The most important thing I learned in those kinds of situations is to trust your gut. There were certain situations I decided to be close-up and others I held back from. Sometimes, I beat myself up for not being in the right place or holding back too much, but you have to be honest with yourself and with what you’re willing to do. It took quite a while to reconcile these feelings, but the experience taught me that I’m not a conflict photographer.
Many photojournalists starting out often have a dream of covering foreign stories and conflicts. I didn’t go to Ukraine searching out a conflict to photograph, I just happened to be there when it all started. And a part of me left feeling like I had failed as a journalist because I hadn’t gotten the most heated moments, and I was actually back in Canada on the day that over a hundred protestors were shot. For me, it was more emotionally heavy to be away from the square during that time than when I was in it. Not knowing about the fate of many friends who were there, as well as feeling the guilt of not being there, took a toll.
We’re taught to want to be this travelling, conflict photographer, but that’s not who all of us are. The whole time on the square, I found myself being much more drawn and interested in the quieter moments and it took me a while to realize those moments are just as important too.
We are all unique and we will all notice different things in similar situations and we will be better at photographing in certain situations over others. Journalism is a communal effort and we need to be honest with ourselves, find out the type of stories you’re best at and are drawn to. Then don’t be afraid to do it.NMAF: That was over three years ago, and since then Ukraine has experienced war and occupation perhaps beyond the worst fears of those who gathered on the Maidan. How has this story stayed with you since then? Marta: My time on the Maidan has been one of the factors that keeps driving me to keep coming back to this region and exploring the underlying issues more deeply, looking at why things are the way they are now, what’s caused them and what keeps causing them?
It’s also something I’ve always wanted to do because my background is Ukrainian. I’ve always been drawn to Ukraine and Eastern Europe because I’ve grown up with my cultural heritage being so central in my life, from participating in folk activities, being involved in the diaspora community to regular dinner table conversations about Eastern European politics. I actually started primary school barely speaking English because at home we just spoke Ukrainian. It has a huge place in my heart. I’ve started looking at my own family’s history in the area, connecting with relatives and following the story of Ukrainians in Poland who were deported from the South-Eastern territories in 1947 under military Operation Vistula. Deportations are a huge part of Eastern Europe’s history and play a huge factor in why things are the way they are today.
There has definitely been media fatigue with Ukraine as the conflict reaches yet another year. It’s why I think it’s more important than ever to stay with the story and understand what is happening there, to put the past and the future in greater context for the average viewer.NMAF: For the camera nerds, what bodies and lenses do you shoot with? And what was your technical approach to the photography on the Maidan? Marta: Back then, during those three months on the Maidan, I was using a D600 and a 35mm f/2 and a 24-70mm. This is still my favourite set-up although now I have a D810 with a 35mm f/1.4. My technical approach is to go as light on gear as possible, zoom with your feet and build intimacy with the people you are photographing. This will create a much better photo than any lens or camera body can.NMAF: You worked with Anna Minzhulina, then the art director of Maisonneuve, who said she was stunned by the evocative scenes and characters that jumped out from your images. Can you describe the creative process of how the two of you edited your body of work into a story that connected with the magazine reader? Marta: Anna is an extremely talented and passionate editor and I am so grateful for her eye. Editing is an art of its own and a skill many photographers often lack, myself included. It was also a story I had immersed myself in, so it can be very hard to be objective about the photos when editing, which is where Anna came in.So often, I would attach a personal memory or story to a photo and Anna was able to single out the photos that could still speak to a viewer who was encountering them without all the backstory. She chose the photos that could speak on their own and spoke together cohesively to tell the story of the square.
It was also exciting to be able to tell a story in a magazine over so much space. The majority of my time I’ve spent working in newspapers where it’s usually one image to tell a story, but here it was a different process of how the photos work together to form a narrative.

Women photographers are still an anomaly in the male-dominated documentary photo world, with its emphasis on traditionally masculine values like the courage and bravery to ‘shoot’ with a camera. We need to encourage more female visual voices like Iwanek’s here in Canada and around the world. Death does not distinguish between genders. It takes all. But I’m interested in how the female eye looking through a photographic lens might see it differently. It’s important that we have different perspectives, that we pay attention to what they might show us that we haven’t considered before. That’s why we need exposure to more work of female war photographers, such as Iwanek.
—Anna Minzhulina, former art director, Maisonneuve

NMAF: The night of the 2016 National Magazine Awards, you didn’t have a ticket to get in, but as the show started you were hanging out in the foyer in case your name was called. And it was—twice! What was that experience like? And when you were on stage accepting your awards, what was your message to the audience?Marta: I was generously given a seat at the sponsor table and so in the end I was able to attend the awards. I had a small cheer crew at the table and we had a lot of fun. I hadn’t prepared a speech, but I just went up there and spoke from my heart. I thanked everyone who helped me and it was great to see Anna in the audience as I spoke. I was also thankful that the recognition of the award would bring more attention to the story, which had greatly fallen off the news cycle. It’s a story close to me and so I’m grateful for any opportunity to talk about it.Marta Iwanek accepts the National Magazine Award for Best New Magazine Photographer at the 2016 Gala.

NMAF: Can you tell us about some of your latest projects, and what you’re up to next as a journalist? Marta: A project titled “Darling” was actually one of my first projects and still one close to my heart. It is a story about an elderly couple in Trenton, Ontario, where Lex Duncan is the at-home-caregiver for his wife Mary Duncan, who has dementia. I started it as a way to reconnect with a generation I felt I didn’t get a good chance to know after my last grandparent died.
It was a project to deal with the loss and also understanding what my parents, as well as countless others in our country are facing as they care for an ailing loved one. I am so grateful to the Duncan family who opened up their home to me and gave me a chance to get to know them and tell this story.Lex Duncan wakes his wife Mary up in the morning in Trenton, Ontario. Mary was diagnosed with dementia in 2008 and Lex cared for her in their home until she died in 2015. (Photo courtesy Marta Iwanek.)

This year I started photographing in the villages my grandparents came from. They were once Ukrainian villages but after WWII became part of Poland and the majority of the Ukrainians who lived there were deported and dispersed either to Soviet Ukraine or throughout Poland, my grandparents included.
I’ve always been curious about my roots and grew up with a father who has worked as a historian, making films and writing books on eastern European history. So after the Maidan I became interested in exploring Eastern Europe on a deeper level and understanding events in the past that have an effect on the present. Through this project I want to explore how identity changes when a culture is displaced from its ancestral land. It’s been a very personal project, but I’ve also found it to be incredibly universal through the many forced migrations happening throughout the world today.

Marta Iwanek is a National Magazine Award-winning photojournalist whose work has appeared in Maisonneuve, Maclean’s, the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, and other publications. In 2016 she was named Canada’s Best New Magazine Photographer by the National Magazine Awards Foundation. Discover more of her work at martaiwanek.com. The 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards are open for submissions until January 20, including three different categories for photography. Enter at magazine-awards.com.
Read more Off the Page interviews with National Magazine Award-winning photographers including Roger LeMoyne and Ian Willms.NMA gala photos by Steven Goetz for the National Magazine Awards Foundation.

Are you an emerging Canadian magazine illustrator or graphic artist? Have you published your first major piece of visual work in a Canadian consumer or B2B magazine, a university magazine, or an arts journal within the last 3 years? Chances are you’re eligible to be named Canada’s Best New Illustrator from the National Magazine Awards Foundation.
The National Magazine Award for Best New Illustrator goes to the artist whose early work in Canadian magazines shows the highest degree of craft and promise. The award includes a cash prize of $1000, an awards certificate, and nationwide recognition.ELIGIBILITYEligible work–including illustration, photo illustration, infographics, graphic narratives and digital images–must have been published in a Canadian magazine (print, online or tablet) between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016. The work can be a single illustration or a series accompanying an article or editorial package. Candidates must not have published any magazine work prior to 2014. The intent is to restrict this award to students and visual artists with a maximum of 3 years’ experience in professional journalism. One entry per person. See the NMAF’s rules for further information about eligible publications.

HOW TO ENTEREnter your submissions at magazine-awards.com. Submissions may be made by the artist or their art director or teacher, and must include a PDF of the work as well as a letter of reference (see requirements below). The deadline for applications is January 20. The cost to enter is $95 (freelancers who enter their own work may be eligible for the Freelancer Support Fund and an entry fee of just $50).REQUIREMENTS

Upload a PDF of a letter of reference from a teacher, art director, mentor or colleague, which should introduce the candidate to the jury, attest to their eligibility, for this award, and provide context for the work submitted. Both the visual work and letter are reviewed by the judges.

Pay the submission fee by cheque or credit card.

FINALISTS AND WINNERS
A shortlist of up to 5 finalists will be announced in the spring, and all finalists receive a certificate and recognition in NMAF publications and at the gala. The winner will be revealed at the 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards gala.PRIZE
There is a cash prize of $1000 and an awards certificate, and the right to call yourself a National Magazine Award winner. We’ll interview you for our blog and newsletter, and promote you and your work to art directors and magazine readers nationwide.PREVIOUS WINNERS
Recent winners of the award for Best New Magazine Illustrator include Byron Eggenschwilerand Hudson Christie.
Don’t forget the deadline: January 20, 2017.
Ready to submit? Click here.ABOUT THE NMAF
The National Magazine Awards Foundation is a bilingual, not-for-profit institution whose mission is to foster, recognize and promote editorial excellence in Canadian publications. The annual program of awards are presented in the spring and are followed by a year-long national publicity campaign and several professional development opportunities.

The 38th annual National Magazine Awards are coming up on June 5 and Canadian magazine creators and readers are getting excited to see whose work will be recognized at this year’s gala.
It’s exciting to see the nominees for our best new creator categories (Best New Photographer or Illustrator and Best New Magazine Writer) as we’re exposed to some of the Canadian magazine industry’s great, emerging talent.
The finalists have been announced and this year’s jury has nominated three finalists for the Best New Photographer or Illustrator award, sponsored by Red Point Media. The winner will be announced at the National Magazine Awards gala on June 5 in Toronto. [Tickets & Gala Info].
Get to know the three finalists for Best New Photographer or Illustrator:Hudson Christie
Gifted with a unique style and creative interpretation of the written word, Hudson Christie has been nominated for the Best New Photographer or Illustrator award after his piece “A Portrait of the Artist With Testicles in Hand” appeared in the Winter 2014 issue of Maisonneuve. Since graduating from OCAD University in 2014, he has also worked with The New York Times, ESPN Magazine and the Association of Registered Graphic Designers.

This illustrator has a distinctive and clear voice that will attract notice from audiences and designers. He uses wit and humour to address a provocative subject and he technique is a fresh and a unique approach to form. — National Magazine Awards jury

His work combines drawing, sculpting, photography and digital media, which he uses to turn theatrical three-dimensional settings into two-dimensional experiences within a magazine. He offers a fresh, new approach to traditional illustration and has a distinct, clear voice that is hard to ignore. Christie is unafraid to push boundaries or take risks with his work and has proven he can approach provocative subjects with wit and humour.
He works hard to ensure the concept precisely reflects the story and has a natural ability to find the most colourful details described in a piece, and then breathes life into them visually.Min Gyo Chung
His sophisticated and elegant approach to illustrating the link between mental health and climate change in the Summer 2014 issue of Corporate Knights is what earned Min Gyo Chung a nomination for Best new Illustrator or Photographer. In addition to Corporate Knights, his work has graced the pages of many other National Magazine Award-winning magazines such as The Walrus, Precedent and Cottage Life.

This entry demonstrated a sophisticated conceptual approach to complex subject matter. The communication is simple and elegant. The content and composition are thoughtfully linked and the image distills ideas to their essential form. — National Magazine Awards jury

Min has been named one of the “100 Best” in Creative Quarterly’s hardcover annual for 2014, graduating from the illustration program at OCAD in the same year. He has won numerous awards including the grand prize in last year’s Adobe Design Achievement Awards and also made CMYK Magazine’s top 100 list of new creatives.
Min’s ability to distill ideas to their essential form and take a thoughtful approach to complex issues help to further distinguish his skills in seamlessly uniting content with composition. His confident and deceptively simple aesthetic of work deceives the audience of his youthful age.Min Gyo Chung is also nominated in the Illustration & Photo Illustration category for “Expos Nation,” which was published in The Walrus.Kiana HayeriKiana’s work demonstrates the photojournalist’s instinct to anticipate and frame moments loaded with narrative and meaning, as was shown by her photographs which accompanied the story “Mission Accomplished” in the March 2014 issue of Report on Business. Kiana Kayeri’s photographs, in which she travelled to Afghanistan to shoot, supplement the story of a Canadian cellphone company in Afghanistan.

A young photographer with an old soul. Kiana’s pictures connect beautifully with the story. Alone they could tell a story but alongside the writer’s work they compliment and elevate the story. — National Magazine Awards jury

Since graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of Image Arts at Ryerson University in 2011, she has been featured in numerous exhibitions and has an extensive list of awards and achievements. She has held four solo exhibitions, both in North America and abroad, including one at the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression 2012 Gala at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Her work has also been featured in Newsweek, Le Monde, Time Magazine and the CBC.
Hayeri has documented her personal struggle of a family living apart, as she immigrated to Canada from Iran when she was a teenager. She later returned to Tehran, where she began her career as a freelance photographer. She currently resides in Kabul, Afghanistan where she is available for assignments.

Who do you think is most worthy of this award? Leave us a comment or tell us on Twitter: @MagAwards | #NMA15.
You can view the complete articles of all National Magazine Awards nominees at magazine-awards.com.Tickets are on sale for the 38th annual National Magazine Awards gala, Friday June 5 at the Arcadian Court in Toronto.Special thanks to Leah Jensen for her reporting.

The National Magazine Awards Foundation (NMAF) is honoured to announce the finalists for 38th annual National Magazine Awards, recognizing excellence in Canadian magazines for 2014.Version françaiseComplete list of nominees [pdf]Gala info & tickets
This year more than 200 Canadian magazines submitted their work to the National Magazine Awards. Magazines from all three coasts—in both official languages, print and digital—participated this year, entering work created by more than 3000 writers, editors, photographers, illustrators, art directors and other creators. This year saw growth in participation from Quebec and Alberta magazines, as well as remarkable participation from Canada’s literary and arts magazines through the help of the NMAF’s Small Magazine Rebate program.
The NMAF’s 241 volunteer judges have nominated a total of 326 submissions from 80 different Canadian magazines for awards in 43 written, visual, integrated and special categories. The Gold, Silver and Honourable Mention awards will be announced at the Arcadian Court in Toronto on June 5, at the 38th annual National Magazine Awards gala presented by CDS Global. More than $53,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to Canadian creators.
Tickets are on sale at magazine-awards.com.
And the nominees are…MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR

TABLET MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR

MAGAZINE WEBSITE OF THE YEAR

BEST MAGAZINE BRAND
A new award for 2014-2015, the award for Best Magazine Brand will go to the publisher whose brand best delivers on their editorial mandate through at least three platforms, which may include a print or digital magazine, a website, SIP(s), mobile app(s), tablet, social media, television shows, radio broadcasts, live events, innovations in print or digital media and other forms of audience engagement. This year’s nominees are:

BEST NEW MAGAZINE WRITERSponsored by Reader’s Digest Foundation

BEST NEW ILLUSTRATOR OR PHOTOGRAPHER

FOUNDATION AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
Announced on April 30, this year’s recipient of the NMAF Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement, sponsored by Alliance for Audited Media, is publisher, circulator and industry leader Michael Fox.Read more about Michael Fox and send us your comments about Michael to be included during the celebration of his remarkable 40-year career in Canadian magazines at the NMA Gala on June 5.TOP NOMINATED MAGAZINES

COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEESView and download the complete list of nominees [pdf] in all 43 written, visual, integrated and special categories.CREDIT CHANGES
Email staff@magazine-awards.com to make any credit changes to your nomination. The deadline for credit changes is May 8, 2015.TWITTERFollow the buzz on our Twitter feed (@MagAwards) and use the hashtag #NMA15 to keep up with the conversation about this year’s National Magazine Awards.GALA TICKETS
The Gold, Silver and Honourable Mention awards will be announced at the Arcadian Court in Toronto on June 5, at the 38th annual National Magazine Awards gala presented by CDS Global. More than $53,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to Canadian creators. Tickets are on sale now.
This year’s Master of Ceremonies will be announced next week.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe National Magazine Awards Foundation acknowledges the financial support the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation. The NMAF would like to thank its sponsors including Alliance for Audited Media, CDS Global, CNW Group, Cottage Life Media, Impresa Communications Ltd, the Lowe-Martin Group, Masthead Online, Monnet Design, Reader’s Digest Foundation, Rogers Publishing, Rolland Enterprises, and Transcontinental Print. The NMAF gratefully acknowledges its suppliers and its contributors who donated gifts in kind to support the awards program. We thank them for their generosity, interest and expertise.
For sponsorship enquiries please contact NMAF Managing Director Barbara Gould at staff@magazine-awards.com.

“Top Shelf” (Report on Business Magazine) by The Coveteur, former winner of Best New Illustrator or Photographer
Are you an emerging Canadian magazine illustrator, photographer, graphic artist or digital image creator? Have you published your first major piece of visual work in a Canadian consumer magazine, university magazine or arts journal within the last 3 years? Chances are you’re eligible to be named Canada’s Best New Illustrator or Photographer from the National Magazine Awards Foundation.
The National Magazine Award for Best New Illustrator or Photographer goes to the artist whose early work in Canadian magazines (print, online or tablet) shows the highest degree of craft and promise.
The inaugural winner of this award, illustrator Byron Eggenscwhiler, has been nominated for 9 National Magazine Awards in total, winning 5 times, and his work has been published in Cottage Life, Swerve, More, Up Here, Maisonneuve and elsewhere. Read our interview with Byron about his career.
Another winner, the fashion & beauty collective The Coveteur, have been published in Report on Business, Toronto Life and elsewhere. Read our interview with The Coveteur about their creative work.ELIGIBILITYEligible work–illustration, photo illustration, photography, infographics, graphic narratives and digital images–must have been published in a Canadian magazine (print, online or tablet) between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014, and must be at least one full page in size or digital equivalent, a single or series accompanying an article or editorial package. Candidates must not have published any magazine work larger than one page prior to 2012. The intent is to restrict this award to students and visual artists with a maximum of 3 years’ experience in professional journalism. One entry per person. See the NMAF’s general rules for further information about eligible publications.

HOW TO ENTEREnter your submissions at magazine-awards.com. Submissions may be made by the artist or their art director or teacher. Entrants must complete the online application and submit required hard copies (see below). The deadline for applications including all required hard copies is January 19. The cost to enter is only $25 +HST.REQUIREMENTS

Submit in hard copy four (4) sets of original tear sheets and four (4) copies of a letter of reference from a teacher, art director, mentor or colleague which attests to the candidate’s eligibility and provides context for the work submitted. Both the visual work and letter are reviewed by the judges.

Pay the submission fee ($25 + HST) by cheque or credit card.

FINALISTS AND WINNERS
A shortlist of 3 finalists will be announced on May 4, and all finalists receive a certificate and recognition in NMAF publications and at the gala. The winner will be revealed at the 38th annual National Magazine Awards gala on June 5.PRIZE
$500 cash; plus the right to call yourself a National Magazine Award winner. We’ll interview you on our blog and promote you and your work nationwide.
More information and to submit:magazine-awards.com/bnip
Don’t forget the deadline: January 19, 2015.